North Face

Overview

This is an alternative to the standard class 1-2 climb near the very end of the hike to the top of Sirretta Peak.

Route Description

99% of the hike is the same as the normal hike to Sirretta. Follow the Sirretta Trail to where to you need to leave it. Follow a well-ducked use trail to a forested plateau. Once on the plateau, head roughly southwest, following a sometimes-obvious use trail. Soon you will see the summit block (or rather, hill) on your left. The normal way up (not this one) is to continue around the summit block, and then climb big and wide class 2 boulders to the top. This is the way to go if you just want to hike with whole way up. However, you may 1) be lazy, 2) didn't do much research and have no idea there's anything on the other side of the summit block, or 3) want to make this relatively mundane hike a little more exciting. If so, this is the route for you! The north face of the summit block is a massive jumble of boulders. Go up this obvious talus pile. There are boulders and slabs where you have to use your hands to climb. Soon, you will see the big cairn on the very tip top of the mountain, so close that you might feel you can almost touch it. Around here is the "crux", several class 3 moves with gigantic holds. It may not feel very exposed due to the wideness of what's in front of you, but there is the potential to fall a good 10-15 feet if something were to happen. (It is important to note that this climb is not difficult for anyone who's a reasonably fit and experienced hiker. If you feel like you are doing anything serious, and you didn't purposely try to make things more interesting, you should think hard about whether you are going up the ideal way.) Once you've surmounted the crux, you're only a couple of feet from the summit cairn. Walk up and sign the register. Descend the way you came, or down the obviously shallower boulders on the west side of the summit.

Essential Gear

Just normal hiking gear (10 Essentials). If at any point you feel like you should've brought climbing gear, something has gone terribly wrong on your hike.